Naughty 6 month old Cocker loves biting

[Rachel1992]

So, my pup just turned 6 months and is as naughty as can be! Ever since I brought him home at 8 weeks he's loved chewing the settee, that much theres now a big hole in the bottom... When anyone tells him NO! in a stern voice he carries on but harder, if you try and get him off the settee or move him away that's when he gets frustrated and starts barking, baring his teeth and lunging at you trying to bite! It's like he hates the word NO!  So it's like whenever we tell him off he starts to get annoyed and bites you!

He also loves jumping up at tables, sometimes knocking drinks over or pinching whatever has been left there. I've heard people say make sure you're setting boundries but how exactly is this done?

Another thing he loves to do is bring all sorts from the garden, today because it's been rainy he's brought me 3 snails! Is this just my cocker or is anyone elses clearing their garden? 

Any advice would be very much appreciated as today I'm feeling so fed up and just wanting him to be a good little boy 
Also, if anyone elses Cocker is this crazy I'd love to know, just so I know I'm not alone in this one 

Don't get me wrong he is a wonderful puppy and I love him to pieces, just would love for the biting and naughtiness to get a bit better 

[JamiesGirl]

No advice re the chewing I'm afraid but just wanted to say that if he's picking up snails to ask your vet about a wormer that covers lungworms too!

[Murphys Law]

How much sleep is he getting?

Murphy was the same and used to react to the word NO too. He was just over tired and we were walking him more thinking he had too much energy. Once we started enforcing sleep time in his crate things improved dramatically. Now Murphy responds perfectly to a stern no if he is up to no good.

[Rachel1992]

He sleeps through the night in his crate but I don't tend to put him in it in the day for him to sleep, and he doesn't seem to sleep well out of it. Do you think I should give him some time to rest throughout the day?

Also, he is on a wormer already that covers lungworm thanks for advice 

[Murphys Law]

Murphy would stay awake from morning until bed time if we let him when he was younger. He could get very narky. At six months they really do need at least a couple of sleeps during the day in my opinion.

The behaviour you describe does sound very much like over tiredness to me.

[Rachel1992]

So grateful for your comments! Going to try giving him a bit of crate time during the day and see if it helps!

[Charlie Pup]

Charlie is 7 months and is put for a sleep in his crate for 1 - 1.5 hrs in the morning and again after his tea. I'm also careful he is not over walked on the lead. If he doesn't have nap time he too gets over excited and more naughty than normal. Try it for a few days and see if it helps.

[Charlie Pup]

Oh and the behaviour your describing mirrors his too so your not alone. Charlie can even jump onto the dining room table from the floor!!

[Rachel1992]

Haha, glad I'm not the only one going through this! Will definitely put him in his crate for nap time tomorrow see if it helps! How long do you walk Charlie for? I don't want to be over walking him either! Though it is hard to tell sometimes as Dylan can go for hours on end haha 

[Charlie Pup]

If it's just on lead it's no more than 40 mins and off lead I try to keep to an hour otherwise he gets restless in the evening. He's always been an exuberant puppy but did actually listen to the word no today when he was trying to dig a tunnel in the carpet!

[Charlie Pup]

Also another tip, if he gets over tired do some quick training with him, sit, liedown, sit, stand. Repeat x5 and after this Charlie seems to settle!

[HBP]

Does he have things which he can "legally" chew? Nylabones, rawhide, natural chews? At 6 months he may still be teething and will want to get his teeth into anything he can! When he's chewing the sofa do you distract him with some else like a chew or a toy, something you don't mind him biting?

Do you do any training with him? Could he be bored? Training is the best way to build a relationship with him, and "set boundaries" as it were, and will also tire him out! Clicker training is good and there are plenty of websites and videos on youtube showing you how to do it. Does he have a kong you could give him his meals/ snacks in, which will make him use his brain?

Could you put him in a crate/ pen for "time out" when he is acting up? Sometimes having your attention taken away from them is the best deterrent!

Also as Murphy says, sometimes the temptation is to run them ragged to try and use up their excess energy and calm them down and it often has the opposite affect, so make sure he gets plenty of naps!

[Rachel1992]

That sounds around the amount of lead and off lead walks I give him so that's all good! I can't wait for the day when Dylan actually responds to the word NO haha! Yeah, another thing he loves doing is scratching at the corner of the carpet 
He's good at sit, lie down etc so will also try giving this a go!

Thanks HBP, he has endless different kinds of toys which he can chew on! I have noticed he seems a bit more "bitey" when I can see a wobbly tooth! When he's in the mood to chew the sofa, wiggling a toy around in front of him does not seem to distract him at all, actually seems impossible to distract him when he is determined he wants to chew the sofa! I keep trying though. I've done a small amount of clicker training which he responds very well to! Can learn commands in a few days! Maybe I need to do this more often though...

[Charlie Pup]

When he's teething try ice cubes and frozen carrots and if you've not invested in a stag bar try one, they don't all like them but for us it's a god send

[dawn]

When Henry was this age, we had a range of chews, from bones, to rawhide, to tea towels, ice cubes ... We tried a different one each day, to try to keep him off the sofa! They do grow out of it eventually !  We now have a new sofa.... A nice leather one.

We also used to keep him out of the living room when he was most chewy.... I'm sure you do all this already...it does pass as they get older!